Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire
by TheCastorbean
Summary: "The day before Christmas North sent Bunnymund to inform Jack of the annual Christmas party...Jack was singing." A One-shot in which Bunny finally realizes why Jack is so good with children. Purely friendship.


The day before Christmas North sent Bunnymund to inform Jack of the annual Christmas party.

Ever since the conception of the holiday the jolly man had held a huge bash the morning of, partially to reward his workers for another year of success but also because it's just in his nature to celebrate. He's always extended the invitation to the other Guardians and they scarcely refuse, only an emergency of epic proportions would be enough to keep them away.

With North gearing up for his big ride, Sandy working to give extra-good dreams to the children for Christmas, and Tooth still working double-time to fix the damage Pitch caused, only Bunny was available deliver the message to their newest member.

Not that it was easy.

Good Ol' North was a spontaneous man and Bunny had only received the request a few hours ago via a half-frozen elf that had sprung up from one of the snow globe wormholes. It wasn't like the Guardian of Wonder hadn't done this before, shoving a hastily scrawled message in the hands of a random helper and tossing them through a portal, but it always scared the bejesus out of Bunny whenever one of the cursed things sprang into existence when he was lounging in his Warren, watching unpainted eggletts prance around a grassy field.

This time was no different, making him shoot up from a partial-dose seconds before the midget came flying at him. He caught it by the jingling cap and it nonchalantly handed him a torn piece of paper with the words: **Find Jack, Party Tomorrow** scrawled in big, messy lettering.

So Bunny had resolved to have words with North about this later and gone in search of the snow sprite. Unfortunately Jack didn't have a permanent home like everyone else did, discounting Sandy, though one could always find him because he rarely strayed from his very tight work schedule. This made him very difficult to find and kept North from sending his spontaneous elf message to the actual receiver, those globes only worked for places not people.

Naturally the first place the Guardian of Hope checked was Burgess, starting at the Bennett's home and finding no trace of the troublemaker. After that he'd hopped through the entire town and not found so much as a white hair. Bunny doubted that he was at the North Pole, no matter how busy he was North would have noticed, or at least one of the yeti would have.

That only left the half of the world that was currently covered in snow.

Trying to narrow down the possibilities Bunny checked the news for any major weather disasters, feeling almost disappointed when there weren't any. With a sigh he called up a tunnel and spent hours searching. It was almost midnight when he finally located him, ice skating on a lake somewhere deep in Swiss woodland.

By this point Bunny was ready to gasp out a sigh of relief, stomp out past the tree line, shout the news at Jack, and head back to the Warren for a much deserved nap. But something stopped him, causing him to pause in the shadows just out of sight.

The young snow spirit was smiling and flying across the surface with practiced expertise, almost a blue and white blur against the white backdrop.

 _Chestnuts roasting on an open fire~_

Bunny's ears perked up at the sound and he leaned forward slightly to make sure he'd heard correctly.

 _Jack Frost nipping at your nose~_

The spirit of Easter smiled when he confirmed that he had heard correctly.

 _Yuletide carols being sung by a choir~_

Jack was singing.

 _And folks dressed up like Eskimos~_

The boy let his staff drop down to touch the ice, not slowing as frost spiraled in beautiful designs around the shepherds crook.

 _Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe~_

 _Help to make the season bright~_

Jack laughed through the last word, letting out a whoop of joy as he spun and let the wind sweep him off the ice. The staff twirled in his hand, carefully held away from him as he landed again, one foot tucked behind the other. A quick twist later and he was back to flying across the ice with a kind of speed and grace that Bunny hadn't known he possessed.

 _Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow~_

 _Will find it hard to sleep tonight~_

The Guardian of Fun picked up more speed, lifting off the ground once again for a full flip. Snow was spiraling around him in a cloud of white, illuminating his smiling face.

 _They know that Santa's on his way~_

 _He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh~_

Bare feet hit the ice again, punctuating the cry of unbridled joy that tore from the child's mouth. Wait child? Bunny had long since relaxed against the nearest tree, leaning against it with his arms crossed, more than content with simply watching. His eyebrows drew together as he realized that Jack was in fact a child, he had the built of a teenager but the mind of an ankle-biter.

 _And every mother's child is gonna' spy~_

 _To see if reindeer really know how to fly~_

No it wasn't that his mind was childish. Jack certainly thought enough like an adult, or at least a mischievous adolescent. He'd shown as much after they'd first recruited him, not to mention the snappy comebacks from their frequent verbal sparring.

 _So I'm offering this simple phrase~_

 _To kids from one to ninety-two~_

Something in that last verse struck a chord with Bunny as he watched Jack perform another circle around the perimeter of the lake, still dragging his staff behind him.

 _Although it's been said many times, many ways~_

 _Merry Christmas to you~_

The Guardian's green eyes widened as he realized what it was.

 _So I'm offering this simple phrase~_

 _To kids from one to ninety-two~_

Jack left the ice once more, spiraling several feet into the air before the wind cut off and allowed him to freefall back to the earth. A powerful breeze cushioned his fall inches from the ground, prompting him to stand right side up, though he didn't leave the air.

 _Although it's been said many times, many ways~_

Jack was still floating in the air, holding his shepherds crook with one outstretched arm. The smile on his face was pure joy, much like the one Bunny had seen him sporting during their battle with Pitch.

 _Merry Christmas~_

 _Merry Christmas~_

Bunny smiled as Jack revolved in the air. That's right, it wasn't that the winter sprite was mentally or physically underage.

 _Merry Christmas to you~_

He has the heart of a child. That's why he's able to play with them the way he does.

Jack breathed out a huge sigh when he finished, smiling down at the design he'd frosted on the lake's icy surface. Bunny couldn't see it from where he was standing but from Jack's angle it was a giant snowflake.

The same symbol that Sandy used to represent him.

With the likeness of the one he'd given Jaime as a gift last week.

Bunny eventually made his presence known when it looked like Jack was about to fly away, prompting the usual verbal sparring that characterizes their friendship and ending with an excited snow sprite taking off into the full-moon lit sky.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

 **Okay I can totally see Jack loving this song if only because it has mention of his name in it. I didn't even notice how absolutely perfect it was for him until I was over half-way done writing this. 'Kids from one to ninety-two' couldn't have done that better if I'd planned it.**


End file.
